In selecting Metabo's WPB 36 LTX BL 230 Quick, the judges chose the right tool for the wrong reasons.

Metabo's WPB 36 LTZ BL 230 Quick will surpass all other cordless grinders when it hits the European market later this month but not for the reasons it won a Red Dot Award.

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The jury statement provides a quick take on the judges' thinking:

A balanced distribution of weight enables excellent control over the angle grinder. The straight lines of the geometric design convey its high efficiency.

I can't speak to the tool's balance because I haven't seen it in person or had the opportunity to handle it. But I do agree that it's sleek and good looking.

The description on the Red Dot Awards page probably came from the manufacturer and is as follows:

The WPB 36 LTX BL 230 Quick cordless angle grinder with its 230-mm disc is able to provide the same performance as large corded devices. The dynamic shape and the rotatable U-shaped handle with soft-touch components give the grinder a lightweight and ergonomic design. The wide paddle switch provides safety and ease of use in a wide variety of working positions. The adjustment of the guard and the changing of discs can be carried out without additional tools.

So far as I can tell, all of the above is true. Oversize switches and tool free adjustments to the spindle and guard are great, but are nothing you won't find on other cordless grinders. The rotatable handle is particular to Metabo; it has been on their 18-volt grinder for years and is a handy feature.

The most important piece of information about the tool is in the first sentence of the description—that it takes a 230-mm (9-inch) disk or "wheel." Currently, most cordless grinders have 4 1/2- or 5-inch wheels; a 9-inch wheel is big for a corded tool and unheard of in a cordless machine.

As can be seen in the video, the tool has the power to drive a big wheel—which it does to great effect in cutting a piece of steel the size of a highway guard rail.

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The shape of the grip is related to the size and power of the motor. The motors in most cordless grinders are just small enough to fit inside the grip. Any larger and the grip would be too fat to easily grasp.

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The brushless motor in the WPB 36 LTX BL 230 Quick is too large to fit in the grip so it is set forward of it. With no need to accommodate a motor, the grip could be sized for maximum comfort—and need only be large enough to contain a trigger, switch, and wiring. The piece across from it functions as a "knuckle guard" and serves to strengthen what might otherwise be a tenuous connection between motor and battery.

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It's a small detail, but I like the die-cast metal piece at the battery end of the grip—which I assume is there to prevent the battery case from being abraded by the rough surfaces the tool will be placed on in the field.

There's nothing unusual about the tool having a 36-volt rather than an 18-volt motor; a number of large cordless tools have the same. What's different is the battery system used to power it. Following in the footsteps of Makita, Metabo designed this tool to be run from a single 36-volt pack or two 18-volt packs placed in an adapter. Makita pioneered this system a few years back and has since gone on to build native two-battery 36-volt tools that do not require an adapter.

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